The Dual Celebration Opportunity
by jontat83
Summary: Amy is due back from Princeton in the next couple of days and Sheldon comes up with an idea to mark the occasion. This is mainly a Shamy story but with contributions/involving all their friends as well.
1. Chapter 1

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter One**

Sheldon is sat at Penny's desk wearing a gaming headset on his head, laptop open and to his right is a mouse mat and his precision gaming mouse. Meanwhile Leonard is sat at his desk with a similar set up. Groans, cries and instructions being shouting by and at each other can be heard as they become increasingly animated and vocal.

"Heal me Leonard, I need to be ready for this push to the point!" barked Sheldon.

"I'm on it, the rest of the team are also ready. Remember we have less than a minute remaining to capture this point" replied Leonard.

"We can do this, they are down a hero already!" shouted a confident and slightly cocky Sheldon.

More shouting and groans could be heard as Penny walked into the Kitchen area from the hallway that leads to the Bathroom and Bedroom areas of the apartment. She is carrying a magazine in her hand one of those weekly celebrity gossip magazines as she walks over to the fridge to get a drink. She gets her drink places it down on the table and sits down in one of the armchairs turning the pages of her magazine.

Sheldon closes his laptop, throws his headset down and storms over to his spot on the couch sitting down arms crossed and looking annoyed.

Leonard more calmly closes his laptop, makes his way to the fridge and gets a drink out for both himself and Sheldon and sits next to Sheldon on the couch.

After a few seconds of silence Sheldon spoke.

"I told you to keep healing me" said a cross Sheldon.

"I can't just heal you and nobody else" replied Leonard "There are four other players on our team as well."

"Anyway I told you not to play Winston, we needed a Reinhardt on that map" added Leonard.

Sheldon was about to counter his argument but then thought better of it. Leonard did have a point, maybe a different hero might have made the difference in that particular video game. Instead he just kept silent and took a sip of his water.

Penny finished flicking through her magazine and placed it on the table, she picked up her bottle of water and took a big sip from it.

"Sheldon remember to put my stuff back on my desk afterwards. I am happy for you to still use it for things like gaming as long as you put my things back" Penny said.

"I will, I haven't forgotten" he replied.

Penny clearly seeing her husband and her friend were down decided to switch conversation to something more to her interest than video games.

"So are you excited that Amy is back in a couple of days?" asked Penny with a smile on her face.

"Yes!" replied an excited Sheldon who suddenly perked up and sat up straight, the tone in his voice clearly more positive.

"It will be great to have Amy back home. We talk on Skype and of course I have been over to Princeton several times during the summer. But everyday life, the small things and just being around Amy I have missed" he added.

"Strangely I have missed her too" replied Penny. I can't believe I said that Penny thought to herself. But since Amy had moved in across the hall with Sheldon seeing her on a regular basis had brought them closer together as friends.

"So what do you have planned for her return buddy?" asked Leonard.

"He will have to make up for all those date nights they couldn't have when she was away" laughed Penny.

"Actually I do have something planned. Something a bit different" answered Sheldon.

"What do you mean different?" asked a curious Penny taking a sip of her water after asking the question.

"Well I was thinking of throwing a party for Amy" smiled Sheldon.

"What?!" shouted a surprised Penny almost spitting out and choking on her water. "You don't like parties, your own or going to others. For years you have moaned about that!"

"I know and I am still not entirely comfortable with them. But the Brunch that Amy and I threw turned out to be a success" replied Sheldon.

"What type of party are you thinking of throwing? A Welcome Home party?" asked a curious Leonard.

"Well, I was thinking of a dual celebration, a Welcome Home party but also to celebrate our Engagement among friends" he replied.

"That sounds like a great idea!" said an excited Penny.

"Who are you thinking of inviting?" asked Leonard.

"Well of course our friends, then there is Stuart and Bert. My mother can't come as she is at some bible study event run by her local church that weekend" Sheldon rolled his eyes as he said that. "I was going to invite Beverly but she is at a conference in Germany."

"She is at a conference in Germany?" asked Leonard. It always bugs Leonard that Sheldon appears to know more about her life than he does.

"I might need some help with getting things organised and ready in time" said Sheldon changing the subject and looking at both of his friends.

"Sure, happy to help buddy" smiled Leonard.

"I was thinking of maybe getting Raj involved with the food" said Sheldon.

"Good idea. He sounded pretty bored on the phone in his new place and would jump at this opportunity" replied Leonard.

"Sounds like a great idea Sheldon, anything you need us to help with just say" smiled Penny and Sheldon smiled back in response.

"Well it's time I get back to my apartment, I have a Skype call coming up with Amy" said Sheldon as he looked at his watch.

"Ok then, oh and say Hi to Amy from both of us" smiled Penny.

Sheldon then got up and left the apartment. Leonard moved over to his right on the couch slightly and Penny sat down next to him.

"I'm shocked that Sheldon wants to throw a party for Amy. Someone must have messed up his recent software update or something" laughed Leonard.

"He's missed her that's all, I think we all have. Let's make sure it's a success for him, if he needs help we give it" she replied with a serious look on her face and not laughing at his joke.

"Want to watch some TV?" he asked her.

"OK" she answered.

Leonard got up and went over to the TV picking up the remote and then sat back down next to his wife. He stretched his arm out and around her, in response she shuffled over closer into a cuddling like position as they watched the TV screen.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Two**

Sheldon had his laptop open and ready on the table in front of the couch waiting for Amy's call. As he was waiting he was making himself a cup of Tea and reading a Comic Book, turning the pages one by one with a keen interest.

It was Amy's 'turn' to initiate the call, they took turns being the one who would be the one to call the other. Amy at first thought Sheldon's suggestion was a silly thing to do but she went along with it and actually started to find it endearing. After another five minutes or so passed the familiar Skype incoming call noise flooded the apartment and Sheldon quickly moved over to the couch with a freshly brewed cup of Tea in his hand and sat down in front of his laptop screen.

"Hello" Sheldon said with a smile as Amy's face appeared on his screen.

"Hi Sheldon" she replied with a matching look on her face.

"How is Princeton today? I was checking my phone earlier and the weather is supposed to be really hot there, a heatwave according to my phone app?!" asked Sheldon.

"It is, a nice warm late summer day. The weather is beautiful though I have been in the lab for most of the day so I haven't really been able to enjoy any of it" she answered.

"Is the project all finished? You only have a couple of days left" he asked.

"Yes the research is all done. I'm just making sure everything is complete before I leave. I have some forms and papers to fill out and then I have a meeting with the faculty before I leave the campus. And then of course I have to pack!" she answered.

Sheldon had been to visit Amy several times over the summer, a day or two every few weeks. But when the project started to enter the final stages and with Amy being noticeably less busy he spent a full week there as well, so he knew the work was on track to be completed.

"So how has your day been?" she asked him.

"Nothing as exciting as yours. I was over at Leonard and Penny's, we had some lunch and then I played some online video games with Leonard" he replied.

"That's good, keeping yourself busy" she said. Part of her still worried about Sheldon being on his own even though he seemed fine both when she saw him in person and on their Skype calls. Penny and Bernadette also had said he was coping fine without her being around even after the Ramona incident which had upset Sheldon greatly. The worrying had eased a lot over the time she was away but a small part of it was still there.

"I am looking forward to coming back home" she said. "It was a great opportunity to work here during the summer and I feel that we did some groundbreaking research, but I just have that urge to come home now" she added.

"I am looking forward to you coming back home too" he said smiling.

"We have a lot to catch up on" she said with a beaming smile and sounding playfully suggestive both with her voice and her matching body language.

"Indeed we do, I haven't been to the train store for a while and they have some new model trains in. Oh and I could do with restocking some of the medical supplies, I did have a cold some weeks back and haven't got around to replacing them yet" he said.

"Sheldonnn I wasn't thinking about that" she said with a chuckle.

"Oh" he said as he suddenly realized what she was hinting at.

"Yes we do have a lot to catch up on" he said with a slightly lower voice. Amy said nothing but her reaction and her smile said it all.

"So, two days" he added.

"Two days and we are back together" she replied.

"So we will talk about the plans tomorrow for me meeting you at the airport? I was thinking of getting Leonard to drop me off at the airport and then when you land we can get a cab back to our place?" he said.

"That sounds perfect" she said smiling.

They then carried on their conversation talking about some of the smaller things that had happened to them during the course of the day. Amy was telling him about some gossip around the lab and some promising new research being carried out by another Dr in the same faculty. Sheldon was more interested in the research but started to get into the gossip a bit especially when it involved someone he had met several times during his visits. Sheldon brought up the film Amy watched last night on his Netflix account, they talked about the film and Amy said it was very good. After a while of talking about a range of minor subjects that they found interesting Amy changed the subject.

"Sorry Sheldon but I will have to cut our call a bit shorter than usual, my colleagues have organised a meal before I return home. They booked a local restaurant and there are 20 of us going" she said.

"Ok then, you have fun" he replied.

"I love you, talk to you again tomorrow" she said.

"I love you too, speak to you tomorrow" he replied.

The Skype call ended, Sheldon closed his laptop and took another sip from his cup of Tea. Thoughts and plans started to go around in his head, so Amy is back in two days which is Friday and I was thinking of throwing this party on Saturday. So that gives me a couple of days to come up with something and organize it before she gets back. Then I will have to come up with a plan to get her out of the way on Saturday morning for a couple of hours to make sure everything at the apartment is ready for the party.

Sheldon took a final sip of his Tea, he then got up off the couch and he went over to one of his whiteboards. Wiping the board clean with his whiteboard eraser he then started to scribble on the board and plan this party.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Three**

Amy was sitting on the couch in her Princeton apartment and in front of her on the table was a folder full of papers and forms. She was sorting through them in preparation for tomorrow's meeting with the Faculty, the final piece of work she had to do before returning home. She suddenly looked at her watch and noticed she had only 20 minutes before Sophie would arrive, she cursed rushing into her bedroom and straight to her wardrobe.

She picked out a black dress with a flowery print and a beige Cardigan to go with it, she wore matching heels the same color as her Cardigan. It was the sort of clothing she wore for when she went on nights out with the girls back home.

After she finished getting ready she heard a knock on her door, so she walked out of the bedroom to the front door and unlocked it.

At the door was Dr Sophie Anderson one of Amy's colleagues who works in the same lab. She was the same height as Amy, perhaps a quarter of an inch taller if that. She had red hair cut short in a bob style and wore tortoise shell colored glasses styled in a vintage or retro style like something you would see from Mad Men or some other 1960's set period TV show or movie. She was also wearing a cream almost white pair of skinny summer jeans, a mint green colored short sleeved linen shirt and denim blue colored pumps.

"Hello Sophie" Amy said smiling.

"Hey" said a smiling Sophie. "You all set?" she asked.

"Yeah I am ready" Amy replied.

The two of them walked out of the apartment and Amy locked the door behind her. The restaurant was just off campus, from Amy's accommodation it wasn't that far and the rest of the group were waiting for them there. On the way Amy and Sophie were talking about their day at work and gossip around campus. Sophie asked Amy if she had seen that film she recommended to her the other day on Netflix, Amy said she did and they were talking about it.

After about 10 minutes they arrived at the restaurant, The Blue Dragon a Chinese restaurant. Outside waiting for them was the rest of the group, colleagues who worked in the same lab and in the same Faculty. They greeted Amy and Sophie and they all went into the restaurant.

The hostess showed them to their tables, the restaurant was fairly large and spacious and they had 2 large tables joined together that were all decorated and set. After a couple of minutes a waiter came over and took the group's order. Amy ordered a small bowl of vegetable soup with noodles, a side plate of some vegetable spring rolls and for her main course a mixed vegetable Chow mein and to go along with it all a glass of white wine.

"So are you looking forward to returning home back to California?" asked Dr Strathclyde who was sitting to her right and eating his starter of sesame prawn toasts with a sweet chili dip.

"Yes I am" replied Amy taking a sip of her white wine after having just taken a bite of one of her vegetable Spring rolls.

"I have enjoyed my time here a lot during this research fellowship, but I am kind of just itching now to get back home" she added.

"I would imagine Sheldon is excited for your return" said Dr Strathclyde smiling.

Dr Strathclyde was one of the first colleagues of Amy's that Sheldon had met. They talked about Science and British Science Fiction especially Red Dwarf and Doctor Who. Every time Sheldon came to visit he usually had a chat with Dr Strathclyde and they got on well. As Dr Strathclyde was from the UK Sheldon also found it enjoyable talking about other things to do with culture and the arts from that part of the world.

"Yes he is. We are both excited to see each other" answered Amy smiling.

"Well give him my regards. Princeton was lucky to have you here this summer" said Dr Strathclyde with a large smile.

"Thank you" replied Amy still smiling.

They carried on eating their meal, Amy ordered another glass of wine to go with her main course. There was some heat in those Spring rolls and she needed another glass.

Towards the end of the meal Sophie who was sitting to her left hushed everyone quiet and got out a large gift bag.

"We all chipped in together and got you some leaving gifts" smiled Sophie.

"Oh you shouldn't have" Amy said, her face starting to redden as she was looking around the room and at all eyes on her.

Amy opened the gift bag and the first thing she got out was a tiger soft toy wearing a football shirt in the Princeton colors, the mascot of Princeton University, Amy laughed. She delved further into the bag and found a silver framed group photo that one of the grad students had took of all of them in the Lab. Amy was in the center with Sophie, Dr Strathclyde and others in the group photo.

"I love it!" said Amy, her smile beaming. She remembered the photo being taken but had not seen it.

"Something to remember us all by, and in our element" laughed and smiled Sophie.

There was one last gift in the bag, a First Edition Neuroscience book. Amy had a discussion with one of her colleagues about books which inspired them and Amy mentioned this one, though her copy back home was very worn and battered almost to the point of falling apart. But this was a rarer copy and in amazing condition.

"Wow, I don't know what to say" as she was fighting back the tears. "Thank you all so much for the gifts!"

After they finished their meal outside the restaurant Amy thanked everyone for the gifts and gave them all a hug. Amy reiterated her desire to stay in touch, and If they wanted to contact her for any advice, help or anything at all they knew how to get hold of her via email or mobile phone. She told them how much she enjoyed working with them all and wished them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Amy and Sophie then walked back to Amy's apartment. Along the way they discussed the meal, Amy telling Sophie those Spring rolls must have had some chili in them as they were so hot! They then discussed the company, how surprised Amy was that so many turned up, once again how much Amy had enjoyed working here and of course how much she liked the presents. After 20 minutes or so they arrived at Amy's apartment.

"Sophie if you ever find yourself in the area I would love to see you again and you would be welcome anytime for a visit." Amy said smiling.

"I might just take you up on that one day" she said smiling, "Until then we can stay in touch via email, phone and Skype" she added.

They then gave each other a hug, said goodbye's and then Amy went into her apartment.

Amy kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch with her gift bag next to her. She then thought about how much she enjoyed working here and the friendships she had made especially with Sophie. She thought to herself I am going to miss some of this, but I miss what I already have in Pasadena more.

After 5 minutes she shook her head, yawned as it was getting late and looked at the paperwork still on the table, happy with it and knowing everything she needed tomorrow was in it she shuffled it on the table to make sure all the papers were straight and neat and then placed them in the folder.

She yawned again a clear sign that she was tired and ready for bed. So she eased herself off the couch and went over to the fridge to get a bottle of water, she then switched off the lights in the living room and kitchen area and headed towards her bedroom. When she was in her bedroom she placed the bottle of water on her nightstand and got changed into her nightie, she then went into the bathroom brushing her teeth and the rest. Very sleepy by now and barely staying awake she slowly exited the bathroom took off her glasses placing them also on the nightstand and climbed into bed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Four**

Leonard and Howard were sifting through the large take out brown paper bags and passing the order of food and drinks to Bernadette and Raj who were seated on the couch and Penny who was seated on her usual armchair. They were having their meal around lunchtime as they all had plans later this afternoon and places to be.

"Is Sheldon not joining us?" asked Bernadette.

"Yes he will be. He's just finishing some calls and emails" replied Leonard. "I was over there earlier, he's been busy all morning" he added. Leonard moved towards and sat on the other armchair next to his wife and Howard sat on the vacant desk chair that was next to the couch.

"He's busy organizing this Welcome Home party for Amy" added Penny.

"I got an email late last night about food options and wanting my take on them" said Raj.

"Really, what sort of food are we looking at here?" asked Howard.

"Well he said in his email he wasn't thinking of a big cooked meal with several courses. He was looking at something less formal and more intimate with close friends attending. People can pick and choose what they want from a table spread" answered Raj.

"Sounds a bit like a Buffet, I like Buffet's" said Leonard smiling.

"Really? You usually moan about feeling ill after those type of meals, but that's probably because you can't resist the dairy options on offer that aggravate your lactose intolerance" sniggered Penny. Leonard gave her a glare but also an acknowledgement that she was probably right.

"Sheldon also said space is an issue in his apartment, he thought this would be the best way of serving food" added Raj.

"He could have the party here if space is an issue" said Penny.

The door opened and in walked Sheldon looking slightly stressed out. "Hey" he said to the gang, "Hey" they said in unison in reply.

"How's the party planning going?" asked Penny.

"Well I got the guest list all sorted, just waiting to hear back from one person" replied Sheldon as he sat down on the couch in his usual spot with his food on the table in front of him.

"Well it won't be Stuart, he will be there. He won't turn down any opportunity for free food" said Bernadette laughing.

"I left a message on Bert's phone, hopefully he will get back to me about whether he is coming or not. I also said he can bring someone along if he wants" said Sheldon.

"Sheldon, Raj said space is an issue at your place. If you want you can have Amy's party here" offered Penny.

"That's very kind thank you, but I kind of want to have it at my place for a few reasons. Number one being because Amy is returning home and so I kind of feel it should be there" he replied.

"Fair enough, I get that" said Penny. "But if you change your mind the offer still stands" she added smiling.

They tucked into their meal and after around 10 minutes or so of eating Raj spoke up.

"I got your email last night about the food, I think it's a great idea and would be happy to help" said Raj.

"Is it a Buffet? It is a Buffet isn't it?!" Leonard said excitedly.

"Yes, a kind of Buffet" Sheldon replied. "I weighed up the space of the apartment, who and how many people are possibly coming and what kind of setting I wanted. We managed to all sit around the table for the Brunch we did that time, but there are more people coming. I thought it might be a good idea to have a nice table spread with food on it so people could pick what they wanted and then sit where they wanted as well" Sheldon added.

"Again if space is an issue you could still do it here" said Leonard this time instead of Penny.

"Again thank you for the offer, but like I said I have my reasons why I want it at my place" said Sheldon once again.

"I am surprised Sheldon, wouldn't you think that type of party chaotic? People trying to get to the food at the same time? Just no order to it" said Howard smugly and looking for an opportunity to have some mischief.

"I wanted you to have a 'make your own sundae' bar at your wedding, that would have been crowded, people jostling to get their desert and choice of toppings first" countered Sheldon.

"What about decorations?" asked Bernadette changing the subject.

"Not keen on the idea of balloons, but last night I found a website for a company based in Pasadena that does custom banners. So I designed a banner online and it should be ready to pick up tomorrow. I even managed to get it in Amy's favorite font and in a color she likes" answered an excited Sheldon.

"Amy has a favorite font?" laughed Raj.

"This is Sheldon and Amy we are talking about here" said Leonard sarcastically and rolling his eyes.

"Of course" said Sheldon. "I thought about doing it in 'Shelvetica', my own font but then this is about Amy, it's a party for her" added Sheldon.

Sheldon then drifted off remembering the four hour conversation/debate about fonts with Amy that one time. Serif vs Sans-Serif, the art of Typography, the legibility of a good font, Kerning which is the space between characters and other factors that make a good typeface. Ah such a good time...

"Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon wake up!" shouted Penny.

"Sorry where was I? Oh yes the banner" said Sheldon. "I will need someone to give me a lift tomorrow to go and pick it up" he repeated.

"I can do that" said Leonard.

"Are you sure? You also have to drop me off at the airport as well tomorrow early evening" replied Sheldon.

"We can do both buddy" said a reassuring Leonard.

"What about other decorations? Plates, cutlery etc" asked Bernadette. "Do you need to borrow anything?" she added.

"Well I have found a place that has a nice tablecloth, matching napkins and plates just on the outskirts of Pasadena. I have already paid for them, I just need to pick them up. I already have the cutlery sorted" replied Sheldon.

"Whereabouts?" asked Howard. Sheldon told them the location.

"We can pick them up for you if you want, we have some shopping to do in that area. And we should have room in our minivan" replied Howard.

"That sounds perfect, thank you" smiled Sheldon.

"I also have a floral centerpiece for the table. When I visited Amy at Princeton we often had walks in the campus gardens and Amy liked those flowers. I found a place I can get them, sure they won't be as impressive as the ones at Princeton but Amy should like them" said Sheldon. "They will be delivering them here on the day" he added.

"Is there anything else we can do?" asked Penny.

"Well there is one more thing I do need to organize, finding a way of getting Amy out of the apartment on the day so I can set everything all up and ready. Ideally out of the immediate area because of the flower delivery" replied Sheldon.

"We can do that" said Penny looking at Bernadette and then Sheldon.

"Yeah we haven't had a catch up in person for a while. We can take Amy out somewhere for a few hours if you want" Bernadette said smiling and looking back at Penny.

"That would be perfect, thank you" said Sheldon looking at both Penny and Bernadette.

"Well I think we are all sorted then. Howard and Bernadette will pick up some of the decorations, me and Leonard will go and get the banner, Raj and I will sort out the food, and Penny and Bernadette will take Amy out on the morning so I can get everything set up" Sheldon looked a lot less stressed out and was happy that he had a plan, he just now needed to carry it out.

"If you want you can store some of these things in the spare room here until Saturday. If you keep them at your place you run the risk of Amy accidentally stumbling upon them when she gets back" Leonard said.

"Great idea, thank you I will do just that" said Sheldon.

With everything all organised and a plan of action decided they carried on eating their meal, talking about other things and their plans for the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Five**

Amy had spent the morning with the heads of the Faculty going through what outstanding paperwork she had to sign and get in, she was fully prepared and had everything ready to go in her folder so the meeting went fairly quickly. She then had one last meal in the canteen area on campus for her lunch when a few more colleagues came up to her and said their goodbye's and then she took one final stroll around the campus and the gardens as a final goodbye to her workplace and home for the last three months.

Back in her apartment she was pottering around and packing stuff up. The University provided some boxes for her and offered to send them to where she wanted free of charge, they gave no time-frame when they would arrive but they said they would get there. As she fully expected she was going back with more things than she had arrived with, though this was eased somewhat as Sheldon had taken some things back with him on his last visit.

She made herself a cup of Tea and was filling boxes and luggage whilst she was waiting for Sheldon's Skype call, it was his turn to call her.

Her laptop started to emit the familiar noise of an incoming call so she picked up her laptop and sat on the couch, placing the laptop on the table in front of her.

"Hello Sheldon" Amy said.

"Hello, just checking in to see how everything is going?" he said.

"Good, I've got everything done. Just packing now and waiting until my cab arrives tomorrow" she answered.

"How was your farewell meal last night?" he asked her.

"Very good, we went to a local Chinese restaurant there were 20 of us and we had a really good time" she said smiling.

She then filled in Sheldon about what she had to eat, how the evening went and also the leaving gifts she received from her colleagues. She also said that Dr Strathclyde had passed on his regards to Sheldon as well.

"Very nice to get a new copy of one of my favorite science books and a first edition as well. It must have been expensive! My copy at home is falling apart!" she added sounding shocked but also very happy with her gift.

"I have seen you read that book a lot and it did look very worn" he said.

"This is an almost mint condition first edition, I might be too scared to actually read it" she said laughing.

"It sounds like you had a good time and your colleagues are going to miss you, you must have made an impression on them" he said smiling.

"We said we will stay in contact. I also told Dr Anderson 'Sophie' if she is in the area sometime she should come and visit, she would be most welcome" she said.

"That was nice of you, It did look like you got on very well the couple of times I had met her" he said.

"Anyway enough about me, how was you day?" she asked him.

"Good, we were all at Leonard and Penny's eating Thai food this lunchtime" he replied.

"How is everyone?" she asked him.

"Good I think, well they all seemed OK" he answered.

"So what are your plans this evening? More packing?" he asked her changing the subject. He thought to himself the less focus on me the better this time with the party planning going on. Less chance of me slipping up and accidentally revealing it!

"I'll do a little bit more then probably make something to eat and then watch a movie or read one of these books I got from one of the local bookstores. I bought several for the airport wait" she said. "I also have some time to kill tomorrow before my cab arrives so maybe I shouldn't do all my packing today" she added.

"Have you got enough luggage to bring it all back?" he asked her sounding slightly concerned she might not have.

"I bought another suitcase, and the University has offered to send some boxes home for me free of charge" she replied.

"That was nice of them" Sheldon said.

"Yes, though they warned me it may take some time for the boxes to arrive. So I will make sure they are filled with things I don't urgently need" she said.

They talked for a bit more about leaving Princeton, how she felt she was going to miss the place in some ways but wanting now to come back home. Sheldon once again said he was proud of her and all she had achieved there.

"Oh I have confirmed with Leonard, he is happy to drop me off at the airport so I should be there waiting for you when you arrive" he said smiling.

"I look forward to it, just one more night and we will be together again" she said sounding excited.

"Well I will let you get back to your packing and I'll see you tomorrow at some point" he said with a huge smile.

"Ok then, love you" she said.

"Love you too" he said.

The Skype call ended and Sheldon checked his mobile phone. He had it on silent but noticed his phone had vibrated twice in his pocket to indicate he has received two text messages. The first was from Bert saying he would be coming to the party, however it was just him he wasn't bringing anyone. The second text message was from Howard saying that they picked up the stuff he wanted and that they would drop it off at Leonard's tomorrow at some point.

Sheldon got up from the couch and went to his whiteboard which had his table comprising of columns and rows that had things to do with the party, he crossed off the 'Guest box'. All that was now remaining was the Food, the Welcome Home Banner which he was going to get tomorrow before he met up with Amy, the flower delivery, a way to distract Amy and just getting it all set up. So still plenty to do but he was starting to make progress he thought to himself.

Amy continued to pack for another couple of hours and then went searching through her cupboards, they were fairly bare now but that was intentional, she ran down the cupboards and fridge because she knew when she would be leaving and didn't want to waste either money or food. She found some fresh Spaghetti, a tub of creamy mushroom sauce in the fridge and some left over Parmesan cheese which was still fresh enough and had no mold on it. And the added bonus being there was a half empty bottle of white wine left as well to go with it.

She made her spaghetti, sat down in the Kitchen area and put on a movie on Sheldon's Netflix account which she had shared access to. Sheldon told her if she wanted to she could create her own profile on his account, but part of her enjoyed seeing or hearing his reaction sometimes when he was recommend a film or TV show because of her viewing history so she hadn't took him up on his offer yet. She was having too much fun with it!

About 20 minutes into her movie and her meal her laptop started to hum with the incoming call noise, she paused her movie and saw the pop up and it was Penny. Amy spoke to Sheldon every day on Skype sometimes twice a day especially early on during her absence but she also spoke to Penny and Bernadette every few days.

Amy clicked on the accept call option and Penny's face appeared on screen.

"Hey what's up?" Amy said after taking a sip of her dry white wine.

"Nothing really, just checking to see how you are doing. Are you all set for coming home?" Penny said.

"Yes, just down to getting everything packed now and then waiting for my cab to turn up tomorrow" Amy smiled.

"Good, we are all looking forward to seeing you back, obviously Sheldon really is" Penny said smiling.

"Awww, you been missing me too Bestie?" Amy said with a sarcastic laugh and grin.

"No, well maybe a little" laughed Penny.

"Anyway I thought you, me and Bernadette could go out on Saturday morning and have a girls catch up?" said Penny.

"That sounds great!" said Amy excited.

"I thought maybe we could do some shopping then check out that new Tea Room that has opened whilst you were away" she said.

"There is a new Tea Room?! I'm in of course!" Amy said even more excited.

"I thought you might be. I know your flight gets in late so I will see you Saturday, anyway you might want to spend some quality time with Sheldon tomorrow night" laughed Penny.

Amy didn't say anything in reply but she did blush slightly which Penny obviously noticed.

"Well good night, I'll see you Saturday" said Penny.

"Good night, see you then" Amy said.

The Skype call ended and Amy went back to her movie and her meal. So I get to be reunited with my Fiance and then out with Penny and Bernadette shopping and a new Tea room? Plenty to look forward to she thought to herself!

Sheldon was watching some TV when he heard a knock on the door, so he got up and opened it. There was Penny standing there in front of him with a big smile on her face. Before Sheldon could say anything Penny blurted out and looking very proud of herself at the same time.

"It's sorted, I've come up with a way to get Amy out of the apartment for a few hours. I've spoken to her and she is up for it" she said.

"Well done, good work Penny!" he said in reply and clearly happy at this news.

"Penny are you coming, this TV program is about to start?!" shouted Leonard, the door was wide open to the 4A apartment so Penny and Sheldon could both hear him.

"Coming!" Penny shouted as she rushed over back across the hall.

Sheldon closed the door made his way to the whiteboard and crossed something else off his list 'Distraction'. He then sat back down on the couch and carried on watching the TV.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Six**

The door opened in 4B and in walked Leonard, he looked over and saw Sheldon and Raj in the kitchen area talking to each other and rushing around stirring pots and pans and filling dishes.

"Hey" he said to both of them.

"Hey" they replied briefly looking up at him and then their heads went back down to what they were doing.

"How are the food preparations going?" asked Leonard.

"Good" replied Raj. "Though Sheldon is stressing out, he is worried it might not be fancy enough. I told him Buffet's aren't really fancy, they are more intimate and it's the company you are with that matters" he added.

Leonard looking around saw them working on several things at the same time. He saw clear bowls with chicken breasts starting to be marinated and ready to go in the fridge, various different types of dips being made, Raj was working on some canape bases so that on the day they could be baked in the oven and then topped off with vegetarian or meat/fish options and it looked like Sheldon was working on a Lasagne ready to go in the fridge to be chilled.

Leonard glanced over and saw a piece of paper which he picked up and read a list of other foods such as roasted vegetables, smoked salmon, a carvery cut honey roasted Ham and a list of deserts and cakes.

"Well what do you think?" asked Sheldon looking at Leonard as he was going over the list.

"Sounds delicious. But are you also going to have some cocktail food as well? Specifically cheese bites" he said hoping that Sheldon would provide him with the answer he wanted to hear.

"Yes there will be some small cocktail party or finger food and I know how much you like them. Oh and I have got both dairy and lactose free options " he said smiling.

"That's good" said Leonard excitedly.

"I will need a fridge to store this food and obviously I can't keep it here because Amy is back tonight. Raj is going to take some food back with him to his place and keep it stored, but he won't have enough space" said Sheldon clearly hinting at Leonard and hoping he would offer his fridge space.

"You can use our fridge, we will have the room" said Leonard.

"Thank you" said a relieved Sheldon.

For another couple of hours Sheldon and Raj continued to work on various food and dishes, the aroma around the apartment was lovely and it made Leonard rather hungry. Leonard was reading an array of comic books on the couch but every so often Sheldon would ask Leonard to take some stuff over to 4A to store in the fridge there and he duly obliged. Leonard also helped them clean up as they went along and filled the dishwasher with the more messy equipment that couldn't really be hand washed.

Sheldon, Raj and Leonard started to then take some things down to Raj's car. They carefully placed the foil covered plates and bowls in the awaiting boxes in Raj's car boot. It wasn't that far a journey to make and they should be in Raj's fridge fairly soon much to Sheldon's relief.

"Thank you for the help Raj" said Sheldon smiling.

"I was happy to help, I'll wait for your text tomorrow morning and then bring it all over. I can help you with setting it all up, cooking and reheating if you like" replied Raj.

"That will be good, see you tomorrow" said Sheldon.

The three of them said their goodbye's again and Raj departed. Both Sheldon and Leonard were hungry so they went back to the apartment and had a bite to eat. They then tidied up, emptied the dishwasher and put the plates, dishes and equipment back into the cupboards. There was no evidence whatsoever of what they had been up to that morning which was vital with Amy due back later that evening.

"Can we stop off and get some drinks for the party on the way to pick up this banner?" asked Sheldon after looking at his watch.

"Sure, we can stop off and do that. I just need to go and get my jacket and car keys. I'll meet you outside by the car?" said Leonard smiling.

Sheldon nodded in acknowledgement and Leonard left the apartment. Sheldon went to get his own jacket and checked his wallet to see if he still had the printed off receipt he would need to pick up the banner which he did. He left his apartment and made his way down the stairs and to Leonard's parked car which was already open and Leonard was ready sitting in the driver's seat.

Shortly into their journey on the way to the Grocery Store to get the drinks Leonard looked over at Sheldon and spoke.

"Amy's going to love this party you are throwing for her and all the effort you have put in" said Leonard.

"I hope so" replied Sheldon. "But it's not just me, you have all been a big help so far" he added.

"You are the one who came up with the idea, doing the bulk of the work and got us all involved and organised. That's all you" said Leonard smiling.

After 20 minutes they arrived at the Grocery Store and got an assortment of various types of drinks. Water both still and sparkling, plain and flavored. Bottles of Beer, a couple of bottles of Champagne, some sparkling White Wines and some Red Wines as well.

"Do you think this will be enough?" Sheldon asked Leonard. This was the first time Sheldon had really bought or even had to buy this much before.

"How many are coming?" he asked him.

"Ten" Sheldon replied straight away without a second's pause.

"Yes there should be enough, and if not well there is a Grocery Store nearby the apartment we can get more on the day if we have to" said Leonard trying to reassure him.

They then made their way to the company from which Sheldon ordered this custom Welcome Home banner from. It was larger than Leonard expected but he managed to fit in his car easily, he thought it looked well done and of a good quality.

With everything done they made their way back home. Sheldon and Leonard carried the stuff upstairs to the 4A apartment and as they entered Penny was sitting on the couch sipping a warm drink.

"Hey" she said to the both of them.

"Hey" they replied together.

"How was the shopping?" she said looking at the boxes they were carrying.

"Good, I think we have everything we need" smiled Sheldon.

"Is this all of it?" she asked looking at them carrying a box each.

"No we have another couple of boxes in the car, we are just going to put these in the spare room for now until tomorrow" said Leonard.

"Oooh is that the banner you had made for Amy?" Penny asked Sheldon noticing the box in his arms and something sticking out of it.

"Yes, do you want to have a look at it?" he asked her.

"Can I?" she said excitedly.

"Sure" said Sheldon.

Sheldon put his box down and took the banner out, he laid it out on the floor and Penny and Leonard took a good look at it.

"It's beautiful Sheldon!" said Penny.

"The quality is really good" said Leonard as he touched it and felt the material between his fingers.

"So this is Amy's favorite font?" laughed Penny. "I can see why" she added.

"Yes, it's not as good as Shelvetica but I think she will like it" smiled Sheldon.

Sheldon then carefully picked up the banner, folded it gently and then put it back in the box. He then carried it to the spare room for storage.

"Babe, don't get mad but I told Sheldon he could store some food in our fridge until the party tomorrow. If he keeps it in his fridge Amy will see it" said Leonard to his wife.

"I was wondering what all that food was earlier. It's fine" laughed Penny.

Leonard made his way to the fridge and put some bottles of White Wine in there to chill overnight. Sheldon came back in the room and he and Leonard went down to the car to get the remaining couple of boxes containing more drinks. When they finished doing that they had a cup of Tea and sat on the couch. They had a few hours to kill before Leonard had to drop Sheldon off at the airport so the three of them talked and watched some TV.

After some hours Sheldon looked at his watch, it was time to set off for LAX and wait for Amy's flight to get in.

"I just need to stop off at my place for a second. Something I want to pick up" said Sheldon.

"Ok" said a curious Leonard.

Leonard waited outside the 4B apartment door for Sheldon, after a couple of minutes Sheldon came out with a grin on his face and with something behind his back.

"What do you think about this Leonard?" asked Sheldon.

In Sheldon's hands held horizontally was a printed piece of thick white card about the size of a large envelope. On the card was a purple border and in bold clear lettering in a deeper but darker purple in the center was the name "Dr Amy Farrah Fowler".

"Oh my god. Where did you print this off?" laughed Leonard.

"At work, my printer nor your's would handle card of this thickness" smiled Sheldon.

"It's actually very cool, it's funny but also kind of cute at the same time" he said still laughing.

"I've watched plenty of movies with people having welcome signs at airports, or signs wanting to get the attention of someone they are there to pick up. I thought why not" smiled Sheldon.

"I'm sure she will love it. So you ready to go?" asked Leonard.

"Yes" said Sheldon.

They made their way to the airport in the early evening darkness, the traffic wasn't too bad and it took around 45 minutes or so to get there. Leonard dropped Sheldon off and he said he would see him tomorrow morning. Sheldon thanked Leonard for all his help today and said goodbye.

Sheldon had a look around the airport and at the various shops. He bought a couple of magazines and went to one of the bakeries for a drink and a bite to eat. He sat there eating his Cinnabon roll and drinking his cold drink looking around the airport and watching the world go by as people went about their business.

Once he finished his food and drink he went around more shops spending some time in one of the shops selling books and then he found a place to sit and started to read one of the magazines he bought. One of them was a monthly Model Rail Magazine that he had not come across before and the other was a quarterly Science Magazine. He was reading the Model Rail magazine but he kept a close look at the information board to see what time her flight was due in and if there would be any delays.

After another 30 minutes or so he checked the board again and Amy's flight was due in the next 10 minutes so he got up and made his way to the arrivals gate. There was a small gathering of people there and Sheldon joined them, he then held up his card and waited.

He didn't know if it was just tiredness from the day or something else but he started to drift off, he thought about Amy and finally they were about to be back together and he was wondering how the day would go tomorrow with the surprise party he had been planning. He soon jolted awake when he felt something hit him with some force, he looked down and found two arms around him and a head resting on his chest. He moved his head slightly down and towards her hair, the same smell that he had last encountered some three weeks ago. Amy moved her head back and looked up at him.

"Hi" she said smiling.

"Hello" smiled Sheldon, he rested his hands on her cheeks delicately and kissed her forehead. He then put his arms around her for a proper full hug and she did the same.

"I like your airport sign." she said smiling as they parted from their hug, Sheldon showed it to her for a closer look.

"Just like in the movies?" he said, they both laughed.

"Here let me carry that for you" he said. She had two suitcases and he made sure he picked the heavier one.

"So how was your flight?" he asked her as they made their way through the airport and to the parking zone to catch a cab.

"Ok, not much turbulence so a smooth flight. Had a bite to eat and watched a movie" she said.

"I feel pretty tired though, it's been a long day" she added. Same he thought to himself but didn't say for fear of letting slip what he had been up to.

They arrived at the cab area and there was one already waiting so they quickly got in the cab. It took about an hour to get from LAX to Pasadena and their apartment. Both of them had heavy tired legs going up to the stairs to their apartment, it took them a while to get to the 4th floor. Sheldon opened the door and they both entered dropping the luggage they were carrying and slumped down on the couch.

"I'll sort out the luggage tomorrow" she said clearly exhausted.

"Does it feel good to be home?" he asked her after a minute of silence and whilst yawning.

"Yes" she said as she reached for his hand and held it.

"I think we are both ready for bed" he said and she nodded.

They made their way to their bedroom, and quickly slipped back into their old routine. They got changed, took their turns using the bathroom and then quickly fell asleep with Amy snuggling up to Sheldon.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Seven**

Sheldon slowly woke up and stretched his right arm over to the nightstand by his bed to grab his phone. With the phone in his right hand and wiping some sleep from his eyes with his other hand he looked at it, it said 8:45 AM. Good he thought to himself he didn't think anything would wake him as he was that tired last night and he had a busy day ahead so he couldn't afford to over sleep.

He turned over to his right and saw that side of the bed was empty but he almost immediately heard cupboards in the kitchen being opened and the clinking noise of cups and glasses. So he got out of bed put his dressing gown on and went to investigate.

There was Amy making breakfast, she had some bread in the toaster and had the kettle on the hob waiting for it to boil. When she saw him approach she got another cup out, added a Tea bag to it then got out another plate.

"Morning" she said smiling.

"Morning" he replied.

The toaster popped up she then took the pieces of freshly toasted bread out placing them on Sheldon's plate and then filled both his and her cups with boiling water. She then put another couple of pieces of bread in for herself.

"Thanks. How did you sleep last night?" he asked her as he picked up a butter knife and started spreading the butter on his toast.

"Good, I didn't want to get up!" she said.

"You could have stayed in bed a bit longer" he said.

"My brain was awake and besides I can't spend all the morning in bed. Penny and Bernadette are coming over and they are taking me out for the morning" she replied.

Sheldon obviously knew all about this but he had to play along, to not ask the usual questions would be seen as suspicious.

"Oh, where are they taking you?" he asked her.

"Penny and Bernadette want to do some shopping, I don't think I will buy much myself but it will be fun to browse. Then we are checking out this new Tea Room that has opened up in the area" she added excitedly.

"Sounds like you are in for a busy morning" he said smiling.

"It will be good to catch up with Penny and Bernadette" she said as she was buttering her toast. She then took a bite of her toast and had a sip of her Tea.

"Sheldon?" she asked him.

"Yes?" he answered.

"What's going on with this cupboard? I found plates and dishes that don't usually go in there" she said pointing to a cupboard and looking a bit confused.

"Oh it must have been Leonard, he was helping me clean up after they brought over takeaway a few nights ago. He must have just put them in the wrong cupboard" he answered barely managing to keep a straight face.

"Oh, ok" she said, the answer seemed to satisfy her curiosity.

They then carried on eating their breakfast, taking sips from their cups of Tea and talking in more detail about Amy's flight last night. After they both finished and cleaned up after themselves Amy started to go through some of her luggage and put some of her clothing back in the Dresser and Wardrobe.

"What time are Penny and Bernadette coming?" he asked her as he was looking at his watch.

"Err around 10:30", she cursed realizing she had to have a shower and get dressed quickly. So she stopped unpacking cursed once again and rushed into the bathroom to take a shower.

Whilst he was waiting for his turn in the bathroom Sheldon was sat on the couch going over in his head what he needed to get ready. Food, decorations, flower delivery and just generally getting it all set up. When Amy finished in the bathroom he had his turn, got dressed in his usual clothes and then sat on the couch reading a comic book. Amy was still in the bedroom finishing drying her hair and looking for something to wear.

After about 15 minutes there was a knock on the door, Sheldon got up off the couch and opened it.

"Hey" said Penny and Bernadette in unison as they entered the apartment.

"Hey" replied Sheldon.

"Is Amy getting ready?" asked Bernadette.

"Yes, she should be ready shortly" he replied.

"So what time do you want us back?" asked Penny with a low voice for fear Amy might hear it.

"I was thinking around 1 PM would be good. I should have everything ready and that's the time I will be texting everyone to be here" he answered.

"Ok, 1 PM it is" said Penny smiling.

"And don't eat too much cake! I know Amy loves those Victoria Sponges, I don't want you all filling up on them before this buffet meal" he said half jokingly and half seriously.

"Ok we won't" laughed Bernadette.

The door opened from the bedroom and Amy walked out, she was wearing a flowered dress with blue, pink and yellows on it and a soft pink Cardigan with matching heels. She had a big smile on her face when she saw her close friends.

"Hey Amy" said Bernadette as she went in for a hug.

"Hey" said Amy smiling.

Amy looked them both over and was a bit surprised at how dressed up they were. She thought she would be a bit overdressed but both Penny and Bernadette were wearing dresses as well.

"Let me have a look at your ring" asked Bernadette. Amy outstretched her left hand and Bernadette got a good look at it. "Oh it's beautiful" she added. Penny had already seen the ring up close but she took another look at it anyway.

"I'm so glad you are back home" said Penny as she went in for a hug.

"So am I" said Amy smiling looking at the three of them.

"Are you all set?" asked Bernadette.

"Yes I am ready" replied Amy.

She went over to Sheldon and gave him a goodbye kiss "I'll see you later then" she said.

"Have a good time, oh and don't eat too much cake! I thought I might cook us a meal later" he said smiling.

"Ok, I will keep the Victoria Sponge slices to a minimum" she laughed.

They said their goodbyes and the girls left the apartment. Sheldon went back to the couch, sat down and got out his phone. He texted Raj to say he was ready to start getting everything set up and then texted everyone who was coming that they had to be there around 1 PM. With the texts sent he made his way over to 4A to start moving the stuff.

In Penny's car Bernadette was in the front passenger seat and Amy in the back as they made their way to the Shopping Mall, they were about 10 minutes into their journey.

"So how was your flight last night Amy?" asked Bernadette.

"Good, though I was really tired when I landed. Long day packing and then travelling" she said.

"Sheldon seems to have a real spring in his step, it must be because you are back home" said Penny smiling.

"Yes he does" she said smiling.

"So how's Halley? I can't wait to see her, she must have grown so much since I last saw her" asked Amy.

"She's good, a lot bigger since you last saw her. My parents are looking after her today" said Bernadette.

"So when are you back at Caltech Amy?" asked Penny.

"Tuesday, so I have a long weekend off. Not sure what I will be working on next but I have some ideas" she said.

After another 10 minutes or so they arrived at the Shopping Mall and got out of the car.

Meanwhile back at the apartment outside in the hallway to be precise Sheldon was on a step ladder that he borrowed from 4A and was setting up the banner just above the top of the door frame, it was a perfect fit because Sheldon measured it before he put his custom order in.

"It's heavier than you think" said Leonard starting to struggle with the weight as he held the remaining length of the banner whilst Sheldon was stapling it bit by bit.

"In another 5 minutes it will done, think you can hold on until then?" asked Sheldon.

Walking up the stairs were Raj and Howard, they saw Leonard was struggling to hold it so they rushed over and offered him some help.

"Thanks guys" said Leonard clearly happy to see them relieve some of his burden.

"It's big" said Howard holding a section of the banner

"I like the colour and the material" said Raj also holding the banner.

5 minutes later the banner was up. Sheldon stepped down from the ladder and stood back to take a look at it, happy he put the ladder back in the 4A closet and then went back out into the hallway.

"So let's get this stuff out of Raj's car" said Sheldon.

"It's like we are the Four Musketeers on a quest" said Raj.

"It's a bit different. Roaming through France on a mission involving life or death decisions compared to working together to set up a party" laughed Howard.

"I'll be D'Artagnan then" said Sheldon.

Between them they debated on who should be who if they were the Four Musketeers and they finally settled on that.

"I don't see why I should have to be Porthos. He likes his food, his drink and his women, there are no real similarities" grumbled Raj

The rest of the guys snickered and looked at him, he went quiet. The guys made their way down to the car and went to get the food.

Penny, Amy & Bernadette were going round and browsing the stores at the Mall. They spent some time in a baby clothing store as Bernadette saw something she liked for Halley and after they all agreed they thought it would look cute on her she bought it. Penny made her way to a shoe shop and the three of them tried on some new shoes. Penny ended up buying a couple of pairs for work, Amy like Bernadette didn't buy any as she felt she didn't need anything but she still enjoyed browsing and hanging out with the girls.

Penny looked at her phone to check the time on it. "So shall we head over to the Tea Room?" said Penny looking at both Amy and Bernadette. They all agreed.

Back at the apartment Sheldon and Raj were both wearing aprons in the kitchen area doing the food preparation and Howard and Leonard were setting up the table after they had gone over to the 4A spare room to get the items and the food and drinks from the fridge. The first thing they put down was the tablecloth, then they put various plates, bowls, dishes and napkins that were a matching color to the tablecloth. They looked over at Sheldon who nodded in approval.

"There is just something missing" said Sheldon.

Sheldon washed his hands and wiped them on a dry towel and went into the bedroom. After a couple of minutes he returned holding a large box, after placing it carefully down he got out a large crystal centerpiece vase that was in perfect condition.

"Wow, that's nice" said Raj.

"Thank you, it's also very old. Been in my family for generations, my mother sent it to me some time ago" he said.

"Just need to wait for the flower delivery to arrive. But I am sure they will look fantastic in it" said Raj, Sheldon nodded in agreement.

Over in another part of Pasadena the Tea Room was just as amazing if not more so than Amy envisioned it. This morning she spent some time on her iPad checking the website for this Tea Room out and she was super excited after seeing some of the pictures and the menu. But to see it with her own eyes it was even more impressive a sight.

Amy was looking slightly gobsmacked at a Victorian style Tea Room, the whole place was styled Victorian from the counters and shelves at the front of the shop and the way the cakes were displayed. The furnishings themselves clearly modern made but had a Victorian feel or styling to them. She also noticed all the Victorian era decorations on the walls.

"Amy close your mouth!" laughed Penny and Bernadette also let out a giggle at Amy's reaction.

"Sorry" she said as she closed her mouth slightly embarrassed. "It's just, this is like Heaven to me" she said with wonder.

"We thought you would like it" smiled Penny.

They made their way over to one of the tables and sat down, they then checked out the menu and shortly after someone came over to take their order. A pot of Tea turned up, they didn't know what to pick from the assortment of Tea's on the menu but they went with Amy's choice as she knew more about this kind of thing.

Amy ordered a slice of Victoria Sponge cake, she immediately noticed the thick layer of the Raspberry Jam and the Buttercream. She then prodded it gently with her fork and she could tell it was very moist and perfect. Penny ordered a Blueberry Muffin and Bernadette ordered a Scone which came with a small helping of cream and jam.

"Well this is nice, thank you for bringing me here" said Amy with a huge smile. They gently clinked their cups of Tea together and they took a sip, Amy's choice of English Breakfast Tea went down well.

"So, the big question. When are you thinking of getting married?" asked Penny looking at Amy.

"Honestly we haven't discussed it, I haven't even really thought about it" said Amy.

"Big wedding, small wedding?" asked Bernadette.

"I don't know, I have some ideas in my mind but it's not just about me. Sheldon has to feel comfortable and there may be things he wants as well" she said.

"Klingon vows, Star Trek Uniforms, make your own Sundae bar" laughed Penny.

"I don't know about that, there may be things Sheldon wants but that doesn't mean he will get them. As long as we talk it out and perhaps compromise It will be fine" she said.

"How has your mom taken the news that you and Sheldon are now engaged?" said Penny.

"Honestly, I haven't told her yet. Thought it would be best I told her in person than over the Phone or on Skype" replied Amy.

"How do you think will she react?" asked Bernadette.

"I really don't know. She took the news that Sheldon and I were now living together fairly well, I mean she wasn't entirely happy that we weren't yet married before we lived together. She thinks Sheldon is an interesting man" she said.

"A bit weird she probably means" laughed Penny.

"As I was saying, she thinks Sheldon is interesting but she seems on the whole supportive of our relationship. Well that's the impression I get from her anyway" said Amy giving Penny a non aggressive glare at her sarcastic comment.

They then carried on talking, eating and drinking their Tea.

Back at the apartment Raj was still getting stuff out of the oven and stirring some pots and pans. Howard was sitting on the couch watching some TV with Leonard and Sheldon was at the front door signing for the flowers delivery. He then opened up the flowers and took out the plant food sachet which he emptied in the bottom of the vase, he then placed the flowers in there and filled it up with water.

Raj came over adjusted a flower or two and then spoke.

"Beautiful flowers Sheldon, Amy is going to love them" he said smiling.

"We seem to be doing ok for time" Sheldon said looking around the place and observing what was all set up. The bulk of the food was ready, but he will have to prepare a few things as the party goes on with the oven and reheating. The drinks were in the fridge and also he had some metal buckets ready to be filled with Ice so that some other drinks could remain chilled and easy for guests to get themselves.

"I think I will get changed into something better suited for the occasion" he said. He took the apron off and went into his bedroom, Raj was finishing up the preparation and Howard and Leonard got up and helped fill the dishwasher.

The girls were now on their way back now after having an enjoyable morning out shopping and having something to eat and drink at the Tea Room.

"I had a lovely time thank you" smiled Amy.

"It was so great to catch up, it has felt such a long time since we last were out together" said Bernadette.

"So what do you have planned this afternoon?" Penny asked Amy.

"Just relax around the apartment, perhaps finish off unpacking and then see what Sheldon is cooking for our meal" she said.

"So what are you both up to?" said Amy.

"Taking advanatge of Halley being with my parents, me and Howard might go out somewhere for something to eat" replied Bernadette.

"Leonard talked about going to see a movie" so we might do that replied Penny.

The car arrived at the apartment and they got out. Shortly after Penny got her phone out of her handbag and was clearly typing something, after she finished she put it back in her handbag. Amy led from the front as they were going up the stairs, and as they came around the corner up to the 4th Floor Amy suddenly stopped and froze in her tracks.

"What's this!" she said her voice slightly raised and her breathing increasing slightly. She turned around to see a smiling Penny and Bernadette but they gave no answer.

Amy looked back at the door and above it she saw this banner saying "Welcome Home Amy!" The banner had a white background and printed on it was a border that was purple and in the middle of the banner was the text which was a darker shade of purple and styled in a font that Amy immediately recognized.

"That's my favorite font... It's beautiful!" she said slightly gobsmacked.

Amy could hear a noise and a slight murmuring in the apartment. She turned around again to her friends.

"What's going on in there?" she said excitedly.

"Why don't you go in and find out?" said Penny with a soft voice and with a big smile on her face.

Amy calmed herself from her excitement, straightened her dress, took a deep breath and opened the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Dual Celebration Opportunity - Chapter Eight**

As the door opened Amy was greeted with a Welcome Home Amy chorus, Penny and Bernadette also joined in as they followed her into the apartment. Amy looked around and saw all her friends there Leonard, Rajesh, Howard, Penny, Bernadette and Stuart, they were all dressed up for the occasion. Her attention and focus then turned to her fiance who was wearing a new dark blue suit jacket, matching trousers and a linen white shirt with the top button opened, she thought he looked so handsome.

She then looked all around the room, her eyes immediately stopped on the table all decorated and laid out. She noticed the tablecloth matched the white and purple of the banner outside the apartment, the bowls and plates were also white with a purple decorative border on them in the same shade. The napkins were also purple and the cutlery which there was plenty was a sparkling silver, she also saw wine glasses and champagne flutes on the table.

She could not miss all the food on the table. Cocktail bites and finger food, canapes with different toppings, roasted vegetables, fresh salads, a variety of dips alongside a plate of vegetables like Carrots and Celery to go with them. She saw a smoked salmon all cut up and laid out on a large plate and next to it a large Prawn Ring. A honey roasted Ham was already carved up, grilled Chicken with different coatings all neatly sliced up, pizza slices with different toppings, bowls filled with bread rolls and many many other things.

Her eyes looked at the floral display on the table and she gasped. Gorgeous Cherry and Pink colored Peonies, Roses of a matching color and tall Sweet Peas of a mixture of pinks and purples. All in the most impressive and beautiful crystal vase she had ever seen.

In the background she heard music, it was low so not to disturb the room or conversation but it was clearly audible. She recognized the song that was playing it was one she listened to in her car often. She knew it was about to come to the end and she then heard another one of her songs she liked come on.

"What, what's all this?" she said looking around the room stunned and slightly out of breath. Sheldon walked up to his fiancee and held her hand.

"A Welcome Home party. I hope you like it?" he said smiling.

"I.. I love it" she said, her breathing even more breathless.

"Let's sit down for a minute" he said noticing her breathing was becoming more difficult and he knew by now when Amy was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Calling it" said a smug Leonard as he held out his hand, Raj and Howard next to him gave him some dollar bills. Penny gently punched Leonard's arm in a telling off kind of way and Bernadette gave her husband a scowl.

Sheldon walked Amy over to the couch sat her down and then sat down next to her, still holding his hand she took a couple of deep breaths and started to calm.

"You did all of this for me?" she said looking at Sheldon sitting next to her on the couch.

"Yes, but it wasn't just me. I had some help from our friends" he said smiling and looking around the room.

"Sheldon came up with the idea and did most of the work, and we were happy to help" said Leonard smiling.

"Thank you all. And especially you Sheldon" she said looking around the room just before she gave Sheldon a big hug.

Neither of them wanted the hug to end but Sheldon peeled away and looked around the room.

"This is a party everyone so let's mingle. Please everyone take what you want from the table, get a plate, knife and fork and you can sit wherever you can find a seat. I'll be adding some more to the table as the party goes on. Drinks can be found over there and there are glasses on the table" he said with some authority. Stuart was the first over there much to the surprise of no one.

"Fantastic looking spread" said Stuart licking his lips as he started to fill his plate.

As the other guests started to make their way to the table and grab something to eat Sheldon looked over to Amy and asked her if she was OK, she said she was calm now. She then gave him a small kiss and then got up and went over to talk to some of the guests and grab some food.

Sheldon removed his jacket placing it somewhere safe, rolled up his shirt sleeves and put on his apron again making his way to the Kitchen Island and the oven. Leonard and Penny with a drink in their hands came over to him.

"I think she loves it" said Leonard smiling.

"It looks totally amazing Sheldon" said Penny.

"Yes she does look happy" said Sheldon. "How did the morning go?" he asked Penny. Penny told him all about the Tea Room and the shopping. Sheldon laughed at Amy's reaction to the Tea Room and he had no doubt whatsoever he would see that reaction himself sometime soon.

"So is this everyone that's coming?" asked Penny.

"Just waiting on Bert, oh and Mrs Fowler" answered Sheldon.

Penny almost spat out her White Wine but managed to stop herself with the back of her hand. She looked slightly shocked at what Sheldon had just told her.

"Mrs Fowler, as in Amy's Mother Mrs Fowler is coming?!" said Penny slightly louder but not loud enough for the rest of the room to hear.

"Yes, I invited her and she accepted" said Sheldon looking confused at Penny's reaction.

"Oh this could be bad, very bad" said Penny, Leonard was now looking as confused as Sheldon was at her reaction.

"What do you mean?" asked Sheldon.

"Look it's not my place to say why, but let's just say Amy's mother being here might not go down well with Amy" Penny said.

"Really? I thought Amy would be very happy that I am taking more of an interest in her family. She is going to be my future mother in law after all" stressed Sheldon.

"Look, the way I see it you have two choices. You either warn Amy her mother is coming to this party or you let her find out when she suddenly turns up. I know which option I would go with" said Penny.

Sheldon glanced over to Amy, he saw her laughing as she was talking to Howard, Bernadette and Stuart in between bites of food from the plate in her hand. She looked so happy he thought to himself and yet from what Penny told him or at the very least intimated to him his mistake to invite Amy's mother could destroy that happiness and ruin the whole event. Sheldon thought it all over for a few more seconds and made his decision.

"Raj?" Raj was in earshot and came over after Sheldon called out his name.

"Yes?" he said.

"Can you do me a favor and just reheat this food and then add it to the table. I need to urgently attend to something" he said and the concern was clearly evident on his face.

"Sure" replied Raj. He put on one of the aprons lying around the kitchen area and attended to the oven.

"Good luck buddy" said Leonard as he patted Sheldon on the shoulder.

Sheldon made his way over to Amy who was now by the buffet table and checking out the flower centerpiece close up. As he got closer he could see her get right up close to the flowers to smell their perfume.

"Sheldon these flowers look and smell gorgeous" she said smiling.

"Amy I need to talk to you, urgently" he said.

"Oh OK sure" she said looking concerned as they made their way to their bedroom and Sheldon gently closed the door behind them.

"Sheldon I can tell something is wrong, what is it?" she asked him.

Sheldon sat down on the side of the bed and patted a spot next to him, she got the message and she sat down next to him.

"Amy, I... I... think I have made a huge mistake" said Sheldon.

"What do you mean a mistake? Throwing the party? Getting engaged? What is this mistake you think you have made?" she said as her face and body language started to look really concerned now.

"No, no mistake with the party or getting engaged" he said.

"Then what is it?" she asked.

"Look I did this with the best intentions, I thought this is what you would have wanted and I guess in a way I kind of wanted this to happen too" he said.

"Spit it out Sheldon" she said starting to lose her patience.

"I invited your mother to this party" he said as he let out a heavy breath after finally plucking up the courage to speak the words.

"You, you invited my mother?" she said as Sheldon noticed the the color from her face slightly drained.

"Yes, she is running late but she will be coming" he replied. "I did also invite my mother, but she is at a bible study weekend and couldn't make it" he added.

"I see" said Amy quietly.

"Are you mad with me?" he said looking slightly worried.

"No, no of course not" she said reaching out for his hand and gently stroking it.

"It's just Penny said you wouldn't be happy at the news that your mother was going to turn up. Though she wouldn't give me a reason why" he stressed.

"Sheldon, the issue is I.. I haven't told her we are engaged yet" she said.

"Ah I see, and you are worried how she is going to react?" he asked her.

"Yes, I mean I was planning on telling her eventually. This week was the plan so I could tell her face to face" she said.

"And because I invited her you now have to deal with it, or hope she doesn't find out?" he said and she nodded in response.

"I'm so sorry Amy, I didn't want to put you through this not on this special day I organised" he said.

"Sheldon, the fault is mine not yours. I created this situation. You couldn't have known this would happen and it's clear to me why you invited my mother and I love you so much" she said.

"Look Amy If you want I can be there when you tell her. We are in this together after all" he said smiling.

"I would like that, yes" she smiled as his words seemed to calm her.

"Shall we get back to the party before Stuart eats all the food?" he said.

"Yes, let's do that" she replied.

They got up off the bed and made their way back to the party, Amy was talking about how the flowers reminded her of Princeton.

"They are not as impressive as the ones we saw around the gardens, but I remember you saying how much you liked them" smiled Sheldon.

"They are beautiful and the smell is divine" she smiled.

Sheldon went to get himself a drink, something to eat and then went back over the Kitchen area to see how Raj was doing. With everything finished for now he told Raj to get back out there and then he sat down in one of the chairs and tucked into some food. Sat in a chair near him was Stuart.

"Oh I am stuffed" said Stuart rubbing his stomach.

"I still have the desert to put out, I hope you left some room for that" said Sheldon after a bite from his Chicken Salad with roasted vegetables and then taking a sip from his glass.

"I always have room for that, plus I can always take some of it home" replied Stuart.

"I may have overdone it with the food but I planned for that. I have some leftover boxes for guests to fill up and take home with them " replied Sheldon.

Shortly after the door opened and in walked Bert. He was wearing a tweed colored jacket with matching trousers and a blue and white checked shirt with a blue tie and in is hand was a bottle of Wine, Red by the looks of it. Accompanying him and in conversation was a woman, short compared to Bert but then most are. She had reddish brown hair which was slightly graying, she wore a pairs of glasses, a green Cardigan over a dress and shoes with a very low heel to them, in her hand was a carrier bag but you could see a plant and some flowers sticking out of it.

"I thought Bert was coming alone?" Raj said to Sheldon who sat down in one of the chairs next to him and Stuart with a plate of food in his hand.

"He is. That's Mrs Fowler" said Sheldon.

"Mrs Fowler? As in Amy's mother?" said a surprised Raj.

"Yes" replied Sheldon.

"Cool, I haven't met her before. I thought for a minute Bert was into older models" he said.

"Hey, don't speak like that" said Sheldon looking at Raj slightly annoyed. "That's my future mother in law you are talking about" he added.

"Ignore him Sheldon, as usual when it comes to women he's just being an ass" said Howard who had walked over. Raj gave Howard a glare but didn't say anything.

"There is a certain allure there" said Stuart looking at Mrs Fowler.

"Shut it Stuart" said Sheldon, Raj and Howard in unison.

Over in another part of the room Amy was talking to Penny and Bernadette, her back was towards the door but Penny and Bernadette had a clear view to the front door. They went quiet in mid conversation and Amy immediately knew why.

"My mother has arrived hasn't she?" said Amy still not turning around.

"Yes" answered Penny.

"What sort of mood is she in?" she asked them.

"I haven't met your mother" said Bernadette. "But It looked like she was laughing for a moment talking to Bert" she added.

"Penny?" said Amy.

Penny was one of the gang that had actually met Mrs Fowler a few times, usually at a family funerals when Sheldon didn't want to go and Penny was badgered into going with Amy.

"She seems in a good mood" replied Penny. In truth she had always seemed OK to Penny the times she had met her, it was largely the stories she had heard about her and how strict she was when Amy growing up that painted a different picture.

"Well I better go over there and say hello" said Amy. She looked over to Sheldon who was watching her and she nodded to him. He got the message, got up quickly off his chair and joined her as they made their way to greet Mrs Fowler.

"Hi Mom" said Amy as she gave her a hug.

"Amy, Sheldon" she said greeting them.

"Hello Mrs Fowler I am so glad you could make it" said Sheldon.

"Please Sheldon, call me Emma" she said smiling.

"Ok then Emma" he replied.

"This is for you Amy, a welcome home present. I was going to give it to you when I knew you were coming to visit, but Sheldon invited me so I thought why not give it you now" she said.

Amy took the Orchid from her mother, it was a white and purple speckled Orchid in good condition and with plenty of young flowers on it.

"Thank you Mom it's beautiful" she said smiling.

"Would you like a drink Emma?" asked Sheldon.

"Yes please, a glass of sparkling water would be nice. I see you have some flavored ones any of them will do" she said.

Sheldon went over to the table and got a glass then went over to one of the Ice buckets and poured a glass of water for Amy's mother. On the way back he bumped into Bert.

"Hi Sheldon, nice party and thanks for the invite" said Bert.

"Your welcome" replied Sheldon.

"I have a bottle of wine, shall I put it with the others?" asked Bert.

"Yes, just over there. Feel free to get a plate and find a seat, it's a buffet you can pick what you want and go back for second or more helpings. Plenty of food to go around. Just leave some room for dessert" smiled Sheldon.

Sheldon said he would catch up again with Bert later and took the glass of water to Amy's mother.

"Thank you" she said to Sheldon as she took the glass from him and took a sip from it.

"Mom, Sheldon and I would like to talk to you in private. It will only take a minute" she said slightly nervously.

"Very well" replied Mrs Fowler.

Sheldon, Amy and Mrs Fowler made their way to the bedroom and closed the door. Mrs Fowler took a look around their bedroom, she had never been to the apartment before, she knew they were living together but had not yet seen it.

"Mom, Sheldon and I have something to tell you" said Amy.

"Yes?" said Mrs Fowler as she stopped looking around and faced her daughter.

"Sheldon and I are engaged" said Amy.

"I know" she replied.

"You do?" asked Amy. She looked over to Sheldon to see his reaction, he was just as surprised as she was.

"Bert I believe his name was, told me you were engaged as I bumped into him on the way up and we were walking up the stairs" she said. "It sounds like you have been engaged for some time, Bert was also saying you could all only celebrate it now because you were obviously away at Princeton" she added.

"Oh I see. I was going to tell you this week when I planned to come and see you, I wanted to tell you face to face" said Amy.

"I am not going to lie, I am a little bit hurt I was the last to know" said Mrs Fowler.

"I'm sorry Mom" said Amy.

"But I am delighted for you" said Mrs Fowler.

"You are?" said Amy slightly shocked.

"Yes of course, you are my daughter and I love you" she said.

"I love you too" said Amy.

Mrs Fowler sat down on the side of the bed and placed her drink down on the nightstand.

"Amy, when you told me you moved in with Sheldon some time ago it made me realize a few things. Perhaps even some home truths" she said.

Amy sat down next to her mother on the bed and they looked at each other.

"Like what?" asked Amy curious to see where this conversation was headed.

"That I was overprotective and strict with you as a child. I wanted to protect you from what I saw as dangers in the outside world. I didn't want you to get hurt like your father did to both of us. Fear of you making the same mistakes that I made so I tried to shield you from them" she said.

"It wasn't like that, I knew how much my father hurt you" said Amy.

"Yes but was it fair to stop you from making a lot of your own decisions, isn't life about making mistakes and learning from them? Does experiencing everything life has to offer, both ups and downs not make you who you are? No, I realize now I was wrong, very wrong with some of my actions." she said.

"I turned out fine, I found the man of my dreams I have a great job and a group of friends that I love" said Amy.

"I guess I also wish we had the sort of relationship that was closer, that meant I would have been one of the first to be told about your engagement" she said looking slightly downhearted.

Sheldon who was quietly standing in the room watching mother and daughter talk and open up their feelings to each other finally spoke.

"Mrs Fowler, Amy and I are about to enter a new chapter in our relationship. There is nothing stopping you from doing the same" said Sheldon.

After listening to what Sheldon had just said and after a few seconds of silence Amy spoke.

"What do you say Mom? Do you want to try?" said Amy.

"Oh Amy I would love to" she said as she started to shed a tear.

"Oh don't cry Mom, if you do you know I will. It would be like those old romantic movies we watched together with both of us blubbering" she said wiping her eyes with a tissue.

They both laughed.

Amy and her mother then hugged each other with both of them having a big smile on their faces. Sheldon quietly slipped out the room and left them to it. Back in the living room Bernadette and Penny came up to Sheldon.

"How did it go?" asked Penny.

"OK, just going to them leave them to it for a bit" he replied.

After about 10 minutes Amy and her mother came out and they rejoined the party, they both looked happy. Sheldon passed a camera to Stuart and he was going around taking photos of the remaining food and the floral display. Stuart then started taking photos of the guests around the room sitting and eating.

Raj joked around with a bottle of wine kissing it, Bert originally blocked his face but then agreed to have another photograph taken with him smiling. Penny and Leonard posed for a photograph together as did Howard and Bernadette. Sheldon and Amy also posed for a couples photo and then after that was taken Amy beckoned her mother over and she took a photograph with them with Mrs Fowler in the middle and Amy and Sheldon either side of her. Amy looked at the photograph on the camera and was thrilled, she planned to frame it and knew the perfect place to put it. The final photograph had a group photo of all the guests saying 'Cheese' including Stuart who set up Sheldon's tripod for the camera so he could also be in the photograph.

Next Sheldon cleared some room on the table and then brought out the deserts as well as a clean set of bowls, knives to cut the deserts, spoons and forks. Marzipan Blueberry cakes, a Lemon Cheesecake, Meringues with Strawberries and Cream. Sheldon told them all the origins of an Eton Mess and tried to show how it was made, Howard made a snoring noise as he told them the history of it, Bernadette punched her husband in the arm and Howard soon quieted down as he was busy rubbing it.

Leonard passed Sheldon the bottles of Champagne and Sheldon asked Raj to open them, the noise and the wait for the cork to pop always unnerved him. With the Champagne poured Sheldon gave each person a glass and made a toast.

"First of all I would like to say thank you all for coming and making this a special day for us. We are not only celebrating Amy's return home but also our engagement" he said.

"Amy you are the love of my life, so to have you finally back home means the world to me" he said smiling at her.

"Oh Sheldon" said Amy trying not to cry. It was too late for Penny she was dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"I don't know what else to say, just again thank you all for coming" he said.

"To Sheldon and Amy" said Raj raising his glass and the rest joined in with the toast.

They then all tucked into their desserts and finished off the two bottles of Champagne to go along with it. After they all finished their deserts they sat around talking for a while and they started to head off one by one and couple by couple, Sheldon ordered taxis for them. Penny and Leonard were the last to go because they had the shortest journey. Amy agreed to visit her mother later in the week, Mrs Fowler asked if Sheldon was coming as well and he agreed.

Sheldon and Amy decided to leave the table until tomorrow but they filled the dishwasher and started hand washing some of the smaller items as it was full and busily working. They were working as a team, Sheldon was washing the items and Amy had a towel to dry them.

"I have had such a lovely day Sheldon, thank you" smiled Amy.

"Good, I am happy to hear that. I am also happy you resolved things with your mother" said Sheldon as he washed up another plate.

"I have something for you Sheldon, something small but a present from my time at Princeton" she said as she put down her towel and went into the bedroom. Shortly after she came back and gave him a box. Sheldon opened it.

"Wow it's a Jersey Arrow III train, known as the Dinky. It operates on the track in and around New Jersey. The arrow III has been in service since 1977." said Sheldon clearly excited at his gift.

"Do you like it? I thought you could add it to your collection" she said smiling.

"I love it thank you" he said and gave Amy a big hug. He then placed it down and went back to the washing up.

"Are you tired?" she asked him.

"No, are you?" he replied.

"No" she said.

"So we are both not tired" said Sheldon as he carried on washing the dishes.

"You know the dishes could wait until tomorrow" she said as she bit her lip seductively.

"That's true, but better to get them over and done with" he said.

Amy put the towel down, Sheldon watched her kick off her shoes and do an outrageously seductive walk to their bedroom, she looked back at him over her shoulder as she entered the bedroom leaving the door open. The only thing that was missing was a trail of clothes from her display.

Sheldon looked back at the sink and kept washing a plate, he then suddenly stopped.

"Oh!" he said. He immediately threw the plate back under the water rushed to their bedroom and shut the door.


End file.
